Applying to uni? Some interesting trends emerging …

Today we have news that UCAS has found some interesting trends in those applying to universities, including: Black and Asian teenagers are more likely to apply to university than white youngsters in England.

The analysis of applications also shows big differences within the UK, with Northern Ireland youngsters the most likely to aspire to university.

Within England, teenagers in London are the most likely to seek places.

The big picture shows an across-the-board, long-term rise in young people seeking places on undergraduate courses, which seems to be recovering from a dip following the increase in tuition fees.

But the figures from UCAS, based on 20 million applications between 2004 and 2013, show sharp differences behind the overall upward trend.

Around half of young people now apply for university places – in England this rose from 36% to 44% between 2006 and 2010. Bodes well for the government’s idea that more people should be going to university.

But whether a young person applies to university is heavily influenced by a number of factors, including social background, gender, ethnicity and where they live. I find gender rather surprising here personally. It’s not clear on precisely how gender has any influence, whilst the others whilst they shouldn’t necessarily be factors, in particular where they live, would understandably influence some children.

There has been a big increase in applications from ethnic minority youngsters in England, particularly black teenagers, rising from 20% to 34% between 2006 and 2013. Chinese teenagers are the most likely to apply, followed by other Asian youngsters, with white teenagers the least likely to apply, with 29% seeking places.

“Our new analysis of demand by ethnic group shows that white pupils at English schools now have the lowest application rate of any ethnic group. There has been significant growth in demand from black pupils,” says Ms Curnock Cook.

Nicola Dandridge, head of Universities UK, said the figures raised questions about “why young white men from disadvantaged backgrounds are increasingly unlikely to apply to university”.

“It is critical that universities continue their outreach work to ensure that anyone who has the ability and potential to benefit from a university education should have the opportunity to do so,” she said.

More youngsters from the poorest income groups are applying, but there are still significant gaps in terms of social background.

Teenagers from the richest areas are more than four times as likely to apply to the most selective universities than youngsters from the poorest areas. Youngsters who were on free school meals are only half as likely to apply to university compared with the rest of their cohort.

There are big geographical divides. In England, 42% of 18-year-olds in London apply to university, compared with 31% in the north east. What I’m curious to know is the actual numbers of young people applying, rather than percentages due to differences in the populations of these areas.

London state schools have been commended for having the best results in England.

Across the UK, Northern Ireland has a significantly higher level of applications than elsewhere, with 48% of 18-year-olds applying, compared with 31% in Wales.

Gender remains one of the biggest factors in application rates, with females remaining substantially more likely to apply. In 2012 in England, 49% of women applied compared with 38% of men.

All of these factors overlap, so that a woman from Northern Ireland is much more likely to seek a university place than a man from Wales and a white youngster from the north east of England is less likely to apply than a black teenager in London.

Les Ebdon, director of the Office of Fair Access, welcomed the fact that the gap in applications between richest and poorest was narrowing.

But Universities UK warned that the figures did not show applications from mature and part-time students, which have been hit by the increase in tuition fees. This is also true for those who transfer between unis as well.

“Numbers of mature and part-time students have decreased considerably since 2010 and any further drop may have significant implications for potential students and the country as a whole,” said Universities UK chief, Nicola Dandridge.

A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spokeswoman said: “These figures confirm that the desire to study at university remains strong, with application rates for 18-year-olds at near record levels.

“Some challenges remain but no one should be put off going to university for financial reasons. Our reforms mean students do not have to pay fees upfront, there is more financial support for those from poorer families and everyone faces lower loan repayments once they are in well-paid jobs.”